Walking burns calories and helps with weight loss.
You can lose weight by walking or riding a bike. Even if you think you have no time for either, lifestyle changes can open the door to walking or biking. Both activities can function as utilitarian tasks. Consider walking or biking to work, to run errands or to visit friends. Even a small amount of walking or cycling burns calories, which translates into weight loss over the near-to-long term.
Weight Loss
Several factors impact weight loss. In simple terms, the Mayo Clinic notes you must burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. To lose one pound, you must shed 3,500 calories through exercise, diet or a combination of both. Mayo Clinic experts contend that exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight. Generally, as your weight and intensity of activity increases, you burn a greater number of calories.
Calories Burned Walking
Walking for a half-hour at a pace of 3.5 mph burns 120 calories for the average 125-pound person, according to the Harvard Medical School. The same activity burns 149 and 178 calories, respectively, for a 155- and 185-pound person. Up the intensity to 4.5 mph and the 155-pounder drops 186 calories. Turn your walk into a jog, averaging less than a 10-minute mile, and a 155-pound person burns 223 calories. For comparison's sake, running at 5 mph translates into 298 calories burned for a 155-pound person over a half-hour.
Calories Burned Biking
BMX biking can burns a substantial number of calories, depending on the pace.
Biking usually provides greater calorie expenditure than walking. Over the course of a half-hour, a leisurely 12- to 13.9-mph bike ride burns 298 calories for a 155-pound individual. At 14 to 15.9 mph, that number climbs to 372 calories. Biking at a serious pace of 16 to 19 mph facilitates the loss of 446 calories. At a race-worthy pace of greater than 20 mph, a 155-pound person stands to lose 614 calories each half-hour. Harvard notes that BMX or mountain-style biking results in 316 calories burned for the average 155-pounder.
Ideas
If you have time, walking and biking are effective forms of exercise. As Jennifer Dill, a professor of urban planning at Portland State University, points out, 60 percent of all personal trips are 5 miles or less, while almost 40 percent are shorter than 2 miles. Consider commuting by bicycle to work. If that is not feasible, assess appointments you have on a frequent basis. You might be able to leave the car at home and walk or bike to some of them. For instance, leave a few minutes earlier in the morning, so you can walk the kids to school. Small grocery store runs might qualify as well.
The Goal
To maintain a healthy weight, lead an active lifestyle. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends adults get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise each week. This includes walking and cycling. The CDC also suggests two or more days a week of muscle-strengthening activities. Walking and biking neglect some muscle groups, but they also work muscles in your legs, back and other areas.
